The first nail-focused beauty blog

Coco Chanel’s iconic style was a study in contrasts. She boldly mixed black and white, masculine and feminine, classic and modern. Paying tribute to her unique vision, Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup, has created a makeup collection for Fall 2010 that brings bold emphasis to the eyes, and keeps lips soft and delicate.

I am the furthest thing from a style icon but I can still relate to the contrasting theme of Chanel’s Fall 2010 makeup collection. In some ways I am a walking paradox. A math and science girl like me could never have imagined a career as a blogger. As a Chemical Engineering major, I dropped out of Freshman English three times. True story!

Keeping the emphasis on the eyes and nails, Peter Philips has mixed dark and stormy with sweet and feminine and the star of the show for me is Paradoxal, a grey violet shade that the wordsmiths at AOL StyleList have dubbed “griolet.”

Paradoxal is definitely more grey than violet. It’s a deep and mysterious taupe-y grey with an undercurrent of purple shimmer that gives the color a cool sheen in natural light and a hint of sparkle in the sun. Indoors it looks much darker than it appears on camera but it was pretty bright on the day I shot this.

For me it’s a great twist on the greige look of last Fall that gave us way too many warm toned polishes and not near enough options for the cool toned girls. Consider Paradoxal to be Particulière’s violet cousin.

Sunlight

Application & Formula: The pigmentation in Paradoxal is spot on. It’s what one would expect from a Chanel lacquer. Smooth, flawless coverage in two easy coats. I had such ease of control over Paradoxal that I was able to create curves along my cuticle that are about as perfect as I can get them. No cleanup necessary.

The question that remains… does Paradoxal have a twin? Unfortunately no. I had a hunch that Dior Lemon Balm might be a winner but, even if it was, it’s LE and not a cost effective alternative. Sephora by OPI Metro Chic is a cool toned taupe but it’s much lighter than Paradoxal. In my stash there are no twins but if you already own Lemon Balm it may satiate your need.

Sunlight

Bottom line: Paradoxal is unique enough to warrant a look. It’s sure to be one of the hot colors for Fall. Considering that it lives up to the high Chanel quality standard nail fanatics have placed on the brand, you won’t be disappointed in your purchase.

Chanel Paradoxal is available now on Chanel.com and at Chanel counters nationwide. Polishes retail for $23/ea.

So what do we think? Are you on board with “griolet” as the big trend for Fall? Do you have suggestions for possible Paradoxal dupes?

Disclosure: A product sample was furnished by Chanel. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Ok my bad it’s not dead on, but it’s in that color family it’s called Nightlife, I have two bottles and one I mixed with another and actually it made a shade damn near the Chanel, but again that is from mixing. Sorry.

This may be my first chanel polish. I’m a bit turned off by the shimmer in it, but everything I’ve read says that it’s not nearly as noticeable IRL, so I’ll probably at least go visit it at a chanel counter and see for myself. This looks like the perfect fall color.

It’s gorgeous! This might very well be my very first Chanel purchase. I’m a bit new in the lacquer addiction game and haven’t spent over $12 on a polish yet – with a color like this I’m jumping off the deep end. Love it!

I bought it last week (2 bottles!) and am in love with it. It’s PERFECT for my very fair, cool-toned skin. I can’t wait for fall to come so I can bring it out.

This is really a very unique color — as some mentioned, it looks purple online, but in real life it’s purple with a sort of murkey grey undertone. That sounds weird, but it’s not — it’s almost like the purple is an interesting twist on purple, something with depth. Chanel really hit it out of the park with this one (and the eye shadow quad and pink explosion blush).

I’m going to have to see this in person. The pictures on the blogs are all over the place – some more purple, some more taupe/grey. If it leans purple like in your pictures, I like it! When it leans more taupe, I don’t!

Unfortunately, no one’s pictures are going to be dead on and they’ll never match up. The light we shoot in, the light we edit pics in, camera settings, our monitors, etc all differ so it’s near impossible that you’ll ever see a polish show up the same on every blog. Like I mentioned in the post it does appear darker and more grey in person than it does in my shot.

Oh wow, your swatches are really great. I was already contemplating getting it, but now I know for sure. It’s good to hear it applies very well, because Nouvelle Vague kinda disappointed me in that department..

As for lookalikes, I’m thinking Purple Grey by Models Own could be close, minus the shimmer though..

to me, vendetta is much different because it’s SO blackened. like vendetta doesn’t look purple at all unless you’re in sunlight. paradoxal is nowhere near as dark. it just looks like a murky gray indoors.

I do like this colour combination, and here it reminds me of a UK drugstore shade I really like a lot: Boots No 17 Shimmering Sequins (Ltd Edition), which is way way cheaper. Of course in person I’m sure it looks way different and applies way nicer, but $23 a bottle – not for me!

Hmm, purple, taupe and grey – my three favourite shades all mixed together in one polish – I definitely have to check this out in person. Not on counters yet where I live though so I’ll have to wait another couple of weeks.

@Jackie Thanks for reminding me about Marrow. Per ALU Feb ’10 post it due out in 3 – 6 weeks. As for the Chanel, I’m on the fence. I love the look of them but I’ve never owned one that I felt was worth the money. There are too many (I want them all) great polish lines in the under $20 range to justify $23+ even if this does turn out to be the next Jade.

This looks so much better on your nails than it did on mine. After reading this review, I bought a bottle but I ended up returning it because it looked so bad on me. (so disappointed) I’m hoping ChG Bogie will be a better match for me.

Aww, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. Such a shame. You can probably return it or at least exchange it for a color that is more flattering. Bogie is more purple than Paradoxal if that’s what you’re looking for.

Hmn. I’m curious after seeing a swatch of BB Couture for Men Incognito whether they’re very close, or if it’s just the angle of the lighting on the Incognito pic. I saw it over on lextard. Incognito may be less purple, though. If possible, I’d love to see comparison swatches! They could be totally different…

Cool color! This reminds me of an old OPI shade that they no longer make. Phakaki phikatka plum. Ok I know I definitely spelled that wrong LoL! Does anyone else remember that oldie? I have 1 bottle I purchased last year on ebay for $30 CRAZY!

The thing I love about Chanel polishes is that Peter Phillips has made it a point to bring out one shade every season or two that behaves as a neutral (read: doesn’t clash with all your clothes) while being anything but. This began with Kaleidoscope, continued through Jade (perhaps the strangest thing about that green polish: one could wear it with at least some reds), through Particuliere, and now with Paradoxal. To coin an oxymoron, it is a statement neutral: it allows the wearer to adorn and flatter her hands without apologies or undue fuss, while maintaining an edge.

That said, I tried this stuff in the store, was outraged by the price, and I may have to throw down for it anyway. No dups I know of.

How about a comparison to butter London’s Marrow? It actually got posted for sale on the website tonight, its now available. Since they’re both supposed to be murky purple-greys, I’d love to see them side by side before I buy.

I received Paradoxal today and it remembered me of another polish. I quickly ran to my Helmers and there it was: ModelsOwn’s Purple Grey.

Purple Grey is a creme but the base color is 99,5% Paradoxal and with a layering with either CND’s Amethyst Sparkle or Violet Shimmer it should be an almost perfect dupe.
I posted bottle comparison pics a few minutes ago and I hope I can make a nail comparison as soon as possible.

How funny I should happen across this post right after I painted my nails in Paradoxal! I had never owned a Chanel polish until now, and now Im addicted! It went on so smooth and thick, but not in a bad way. With Seche Vite top coat it is so shiny and pretty, I can see how this is totally a fall trend color!

LE usually means limited edition, but not reading through all these comments not sure where you pulled LE out of. Just hoping that it’s what I normally know LE to mean. Some times you see it as Ltd. – auto industry always has used LE for limited edition…never apologize for being a bit out of touch. I always adore polish, but I do have to stand back from total consumption of buying all the time due to lack of space and I don’t like to part with bottles I have very often. But now that there are wonderful blogs I am turned on to like this one, I can feed my love for polish and hopefully keep a bit more current ongoing. I think I would have stayed current all the time if I lived anywhere there were stores for me to go look in person, I had the time for that, and was not limited by not being able to transport my electric wheelchair for the past 3 years while I collect $ to get an adaptive van for it.

I did not get my by then famous Paradoxal until end of Feb 2010. I was sleeping with regard to polish for a time until Xmas and I gifted a ton of it as well as had to have every shade in the Burlesque collection. My wonderful polish vice was on attack again for knowing all the new and catching up on what I missed. I kept hearing about Paradoxal and when I got it, it did not disappoint. I don’t normally spend this $ amt. on polish but I really wanted to see what the hype was about. It’s now one of my fav go to polishes though summer sandals here now, I am pulling out a lot of spring lights and summer brights for my toes and fingers. But alas, this gal has deep in her heart a place for these

This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you HSN for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from HSN, all content and opinions expressed here are my own. Ever since I saw Beetlejuice as a little kid, I’ve been fascinated with the look of Tim Burton’s films. […]

If there’s one beauty lesson I wish I would have learned as a young girl, it would be to apply ALL THE SUNSCREEN and STAY OUT OF THE TANNING BED. As I get older, I am constantly reminded of those mistakes when I look in the mirror. I remember having great skin, you guys. Then, […]

From Caribbean beaches to African safaris to the North Fork coastline, the essie Resort palettes always promise us a colorful adventure. This year we are off to India with the bold-hued essie Resort 2016 collection. Inspired by the opulent silks, saturated hues and golden desert sands, these four colors are taking us on one vibrant ride. […]

When it comes to makeup, I’m all about neutrals and keeping things simple, but I’m loving all the bold lip colors that are trending this spring. If you follow me on Instagram or SnapChat, you know I can’t get enough of the new Burt’s Bees® 100% Natural Lipstick in Magenta Rush (been wearing it non-stop), […]

I don’t know about you guys, but these hints of warm weather we’ve been getting has me ready for spring to arrive, so I’m stocking up on new accessories for when that first 70 degree day hits. I took advantage of the SHOPBOP Spring Sale to snag the emerald green Marc Jacobs satchel I’ve been coveting, and […]